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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

we should've told you about this earlier: the jun escario exhibit at the greenbelt 3 lobby because it'll be there only till february 4, sunday. just one of the designers opening shop in greenbelt 5 in october. because after the last day, ana rocha and her jewelry collection (currently available in firma, greenbelt 3) will be on display. we've been familiar with jun escario's clothes since the 90s. he was based in cebu and he was one of those go-to designers from cebu any time one had to do the whole cebu shebang. but he opened an atelier in manila a couple years ago, which pleased manila's 500 no end. the evidence is seen in fashion editorials, as well as on actual bodies (most noticeably on a low-profile socialite who recently accepted an award as a stylish icon, uy intriga~). here is a sneak peek courtesy of the display...

Monday, January 29, 2007

everyday as we drive home from work, we pass through pasay road, este, arnaiz avenue (although who calls it that??), and always see this sign and wonder, what's in there? so last week, we decided that life is too short not to give in to one's curiosity every so often. ok, ok, the traffic was bad, so we decided to wait it out by eating dinner first. and boy were we glad! we've never read or heard anything about this little gem of a restaurant. la cabane is french for the cabin or shack or hut (depending on which electronic dictionary you ask, hehe...), and the unpretentious interiors are designed to resemble a beachy home—very relaxed, very cozy, with bleached-wood furniture and fluffy cushions. the all-female wait staff reminded us of the sales associates of freddy panicucci—typical filipina beauties with long hair and slim figures (sans minis ;-). we liked the ambience, the music was not so loud that you can't have a decent conversation, or worse, that you have to shout at the staff just so they don't get your order wrong. we ordered a canard à l'orange (P480), which we haven't had in a long time, and mm-mm-mmm! was it tasty! the meat was soft and the sauce had the right amount of tartiness. delectable! and of course because we're so pinoy, we had it with rice. we also had a steak with herbs de provence (P760). it came with a gratin dauphinois that we're still dreaming of! all polished off with a bottle of red wine (P980) from one of the smaller, not-so-famous french vineyards. total bill was around P2,500. money well spent we think for a quiet evening, a good meal, and a nice—albeit temporary—respite from the chaos outside. la cabane resto-bar lounge, 1020 arnaiz avenue, makati city, tel 844-0377 (across rapidé).

Sunday, January 28, 2007

furla recently had a little presentation of its spring/summer collection at the rigodon ballroom of the peninsula manila. the prices of these bags seems to have increased since SSI took over the distributorship in the philippines. and we wonder if they'll still have the end-of-season sales with huge discounts (up to 50% off) that they used to have with the previous franchise holder. as of now we've only seen insignificant discounts, nothing over which to get your panties in a twist. so which bag do you like? (located in shangri-la plaza and rustan's makati.)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

just got this text! "hi fashion fiends and friends—fabulous fibre is unfortunately closing its doors. everything must go. here's your last chance for YDG couture at unbelievable prices—up to 70% off! come pay final respects until january 31 only at 2/f doña consolacion building, 135 jupiter st., makati. thanks for all your support! :-)" after one and a half years, it's sad to see that fibre didn't do as well as expected. it was the only place where you could buy off-the-rack, honest-to-goodness, one-of-a-kind designer wear from members of the young designers guild—louis claparols, yvonne quisumbing-romulo, james reyes, ivarluski aseron, joey samson, ciara marasigan, and so many others. well, we did hear a rumor that fibre will be one of the shops opening at the "filipino zone" at greenbelt 5, which is set to launch in october. or maybe the designers themselves will open their own ready-to-wear boutiques. if that is so, then we can't wait!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

the formula 1 grand prix is one of the most watched sporting events in the world—except in the philippines. now why is that? in a country where every driver thinks he is schumacher zooming down the highway, swerving in and out of lanes, and beating all those red lights, well, they probably don't even know who schumacher is. we remember back in 2002 when jensen button came to visit the philippines to promote mild seven, the sponsor for his then-team renault. from the airport to his hotel, the car he was riding in speedily weng-wenged its way through counter-flow traffic. and man was he scared! and this from a guy who drives 300kph for a living! we just brought this up because last friday, we attended an event to promote the malaysian grand prix from april 6-8, and they had a raffle with the top prize being paddock passes at the sepang international circuit worth P100,000—and the guy who won it looked like he didn't even know what he won! dude, that means you get to watch the race from an air-conditioned VIP room, and sip bottomless champagne, and have access to the pit lane, and see the cars up close, and meet the drivers. ibenta mo na lang sa amin... for P5,000 haha! anyhoo, the event also had a fashion show of formula 1 merchandise (which includes brands like michael schumacher, BMW, puma, and ferrari), the regional franchise of which is owned by a local company. the clothes will be sold at duty-free shops in airports, but guess what, not in the philippines! o, dito na lang kayo mag-shopping...

Friday, January 19, 2007

as mentioned by one anonymous commenter, the apple iphone will be available in the US by june 2007 with cingular as its exclusive carrier. it will sell for US$499 (4GB model) and US$599 (8GB model). it will be available in europe in late 2007, and in asia in 2008. for more info, click here. but why wait for that because the prada phone will be available by next month, woo-hoo! the prada phone by LG is the first completely touch-screen mobile phone in the market, and they beat apple to it by four months. it will be available at select prada stores in the UK, france, germany, and of course, italy by late february 2007 with prices starting at €600. if traveling to europe just to buy a phone seems a bit extravagant, wait till late march 2007 because it will be available in hong kong, singapore, and taiwan, woo-hoo! click here to watch a video on the prada phone and let the drooling begin!

Thursday, January 18, 2007

and goes abroad! we've been missing in action because we left for somewhere nearby. chiang mai, thailand lang naman. but getting there was hell for one reason and one reason only: NAIA. we got to the [old] airport a good two and a half hours before our departure time, and apparently, that ain't enough... queueing time to get inside the airport: 15 minutes. to get to the airline counter: 1 hour (sorry, economy lang kami :-(). to pay airport tax: 15 minutes. to get through immigration: enough to almost miss our flight! it was a fucking mess. people were packed like sardines nobody knew where to queue up. and guess what? we were all on the same boat. all our flights were boarding, and we're pretty sure all flights were delayed because the planes had to wait for the rest of us stuck in immigration. and they wonder why tourism is down in this country... but in the end, it was kinda worth all the trouble. we arrived at night and the next morning this is what we woke up to: parang probinsha, 'no? but this is the quiet, peaceful, serene view from our villa at the four seasons resort. what a contrast to the day before! so of course we had our morning coffee staring at the calming, relaxing landscape, wouldn't you? so what did we do in thailand? we visited an orchid farm... and a butterfly farm... met some elephants (aww cuuute!)... watched how they make these umbrellas... toured the royal flora... met more [caged] animals at the night safari... had a LOT of thai food (and if you're not into spicy, don't worry, bottled water there is FREE in restaurants. just say "nam")... had an aromatherapy massage right on this bed at the palm spa village... and of course went shopping!

Saturday, January 13, 2007

we've heard about this beauty brand from malaysia called elianto, and we've been advised to go visit it and check out its products. but all the way in mall of asia?? dude, we've got a day job that's nowhere near the bay, and after work, well, who wants to trek all the way there only to be confused by a rotonda that's blocked (isn't the point of a rotonda to be able to go around it?) and one-way roads that change direction by the day?? well, er, we do because we finally got to go (tuhog, ika nga, kasi may appointment kami doon). (and not on a world pyro day, thank god!) elianto, apparently, means sunflower in italian, but as their website admits, they are inspired by "trendsetting, fashionable, beauty-oriented korea." (well, we all know the impact of the face shop...) so we picked up a few products that caught our eye (and lips and skin…), like moisture lip balm (love the cherry flavor, but would love it even more if it had SPF), green tea face scrub, sheer light two-way cake foundation, and our favorite, peppermint shower gel (highly recommended after a late night—it’s just what you need to wake you up the next day!).

Friday, January 12, 2007

we were in glorietta today, and after a sushi lunch at zen, and on our way to bufini to check out the latest issues, we saw the bright lights coming from charles & keith—just opened today! and looky who we spotted right outside the store: that’s the back of big boss ben chan. looks like he was entertaining the principals from singapore. but where were charles and keith? yes, they are actual people, two brothers in their 30s who started this company 10 years ago. maybe they’ll be here for the formal store opening next month. check out the goodies (most of the shoes are priced under 2,000 bucks!):cute little flip-flops (very kate spade!)bejeweled fabric d'orsay pumps (very prada!)ultra-feminine wedge sandals (very ferragamo!)and what's this? fendi spy knockoffs! (which is different from fakes or counterfeit goods—those pass themselves off as the real thing. knockoffs are "inspired" by designer looks.)

Thursday, January 11, 2007

check out the exhibit of arnel papa's chunky, handcrafted, one-of-a-kind accessories at the greenbelt 3 lobby. (that's papa arnel, este, arnel papa in white being interviewed by mama renee salud.) ayala malls sponsored the event as a preview of what's to come at greenbelt 5, which is set to launch its first batch of boutiques in october 2007. (remember a few months ago, aranáz had one such exhibit of their bags at the same spot.) the pieces are all for sale, and we wouldn't be surprised if they were all sold out during the launch wednesday evening. exhibit will be up till january 21. here are some of the fash pack's favorite pieces...

About Me

the fash pack is written and published by liza ilarde, who has been in the philippine publishing industry since the late 80s. she has been editor in chief of the following magazines: mega, meg, lifestyle asia, jet set, and travelife. currently, she is editor of style weekend, a lifestyle magazine that comes free with manila bulletin every friday. she is also editor of manila bulletin's fashion & beauty pages, which appear in the lifestyle section every friday. she is also editor of asian dragon weddings, an annual bridal magazine for the affluent chinese-filipino market. she started the fash pack in october 2005.